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Nic_hse
Reviews
Gojira tai Megaro (1973)
Good for what it was trying to be.... A child friendly movie.
Some of you just don't get it. What did they have to do? Put a big stamp on the movie poster marked "Kid Friendly Godzilla".
Look guys this Godzilla movie was clearly made for children. Judging this movie against the more darker and mature films in the series is clearly missing the point. I mean just look at the Godzilla suit design. It clearly looks cute and far from scary. That was done on purpose. The monster fight scenes were purposely made comical. The music is also light and kid friendly. I thought this was obvious. Jet Jaguar is a kid's toy and the kid in the film even has the action figure version. Doesn't that make it obvious?
Fine. I can understand someone saying that they didn't like the childish direction this movie went but judging the movie as a 1970's era rubber monster film aimed at children; it's pretty good. I remember seeing this on TV as a kid in the early 1980's and I enjoyed it (as I'm sure most children did). They showed a lot Godzilla Saturday afternoon TV matinees in those days.
I'm guessing the negative reviews are from those who were perhaps born in the 1980's or later and never saw this movie on TV as a child. They watch the darker Godzilla films, and suddenly stumble on this one and have a negative reaction without considering it's original intent.
I still like this movie and I give it a solid 7 but mostly for nostalgia. To judge this movie with my adult mind wouldn't be fair.
It's a good 1970's live action Godzilla cartoon/toy commercial. If you look at it this way, how could you possibly give it one star?
C'mon guys lighten up.
'Nuff said.
Knight Rider: Knight Rider (2008)
Didn't like it much. Weak.
The biggest flaw I didn't like was the main hero Mike Traceur played by Justin Bruening. His character is too young and immature. I can't believe they would trust this kid with a car like KITT. I mean really with all his bad habits (gambling, womanizing, immaturity) they couldn't find anyone else more qualified? It seemed to me they gave him the car only because he's related to Michael Knight. The show just isn't believable.
The car is fine in IMO. OK I'm not a car fanatic so if the car looks cool it passes my test. The voice of KITT is good enough. The plot seemed too much like Dawson's Creek, Smallville or any other evening soap drama. It just didn't feel like Knight Rider should.
Mike Traceur's fighting skills are too good. The fight scenes are laughable. No one can touch this guy. I don't care if he's an Army Ranger; he can and should take more of a beating than he did. I don't like heroes that are too strong and cocky or I root against them and the viewer shouldn't do that. At least Michael Knight was more likable. Traceur is an A-hole.
I never really cared for any of the characters. Hasselhoff's cameo was OK but it didn't save the movie. I might watch the first episode to see if it improves but if it doesn't hook me in I'm gonna pass.
Bottomline: The movie was weak.
Coogan's Bluff (1968)
"Guess you didn't hear the lady....did you boy?"
Coogan's Bluff ranks as one of my favorite Eastwood films. Partly because of the time period & location which the story takes place. It's an excellent period piece. Late 1960's New York city in all it's Glory. I live in NYC and it's was nice to see the Pan Am Building in the backdrop. It's now the Met Life building. The Pan Am building was also the location of the final scene where the helicopter takes off.
The other reason I like this movie is that Eastwood is essentially playing Dirty Harry before Dirty Harry. Coogan is just like Harry Calahan without the 44. magnum. The story is solid but it's the locales and the situations that Coogan finds himself in that sell the movie. Who cares of it's dated? Of course it's dated but that's part of the experience. Actually most movies made more than 20 years ago (or less) are dated. If you look at it in the context of the time it was made then you'll enjoy it. Ignore the negative reviews and check it out.
Kikô sôseiki Mospeada (1983)
Not as good as Robotech: The New Generation
I enjoyed watching the Mospeada series but it's shallow compared to it's Robotech counterpart (Robotech:The New Generation (TNG)). Robotech:TNG is a small part of much larger epic saga. Mospeada on the other hand doesn't have that depth or build up. The plot is very shallow by comparison. Aliens called the Inbit invade Earth and plan to make it their new home. It's a story that's been done to death. At least in Robotech:TNG the reasons and background story of the alien Invid are explained better. In fact the explanation of the Invid invasion is told in the second saga. Long before Robotech:TNG. That's where the Robotech saga shows it's depth over any of the original three Japanese series. There is so much more background story in Robotech. In Mospeada not much is explained about the home world of the invaders. Also the Japanese have a thing for goofy names. Man are their (Mospeada) names horrible! C'mon, Stig Bernard? What the hell kind of name is Stig? Mint Rubble? Houquet Emrose? Geez man.
Almost all of the Robotech names were big improvements over the originals. Let's compare some of them:
Stig (stick) Bernard (Mospeada) - Scott Bernard (Robotech)
Mint Rubble (Mospeada) - Annie (Robotech) ('Mint' was a nick name)
Yellow Belmont(Mospeada) - Lancer (Robotech)(Yellow Dancer was an alias)
Houquet Emrose (Mospeada) - Rook Bartley (Robotech)
Rainy Boy (Mospeada)(Fruity name for a Killer) - Dusty Aires (Robotech)
Batra (Mospeada) (Sounds too feminine for a male. Yep, it's a guy) - Corg (Robotech)
I like the names Rey and Jim Austin from Mospeada. They are two of the few characters they managed to give decent names to. The creators must have been sober when thought these names up. Thank goodness.
The Robotech actors were great. Couldn't have been better. The Mospeada actors are just what you would expect from Japanese actors. A lot of over acting especially from the women. I'd take the Robotech cast any day over Mospeada's. To correct the previous reviewer: Robotech:TNG is not an 'Edit' of Mospeada. It's has a unique and more complex background story. Robotech:TNG is part of a much larger series and has more depth because of it.
Seriously though it's good series but it doesn't beat the Robotech version in anyway. Mospeada did a horrid job on the names and several other things in the series. It didn't hamper my enjoyment of it because I was able to look past them. If you can't tolerate Japanese actors and the goofy names; check out Robotech instead. I think Robotech improved all of the three original series from which it was based. Especially the plot and characters. There is no contest for me. It's Robotech all the way. Mospeada today is almost forgotten while Robotech is making a come back. Not that Robotech was ever dead. The comics never stopped.
Watch the 86 episodes of the Robotech series first and then hunt down the original 3 series. Beware though. After watching Robotech you may not want to bother to watch the original 3 Japanese series.
The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers (1986)
These Are The Galaxy Rangers! Ride With Them....
I remember the opening theme for this show. I can't seem to remember any particular episodes though. I do remember this show being above and beyond
almost all the other cartoons at the time. Robotech was better, but nothing else I've seen. This was one of the few 80's cartoons that didn't insult your intelligence. Check it out if you can. Although I wouldn't get my hopes for a DVD release. Not likely to happen. The original master tapes of this cartoon are probably decomposing in a studio archive vault somewhere.
Someone earlier mentioned that Galaxy Rangers pre-dated the cartoon\toy tie-in craze. That's not true. The toy cartoon\tie-ins you see now, began in the early 80's. The toys were made before many of the 80's cartoons were even produced yet. He-Man comes to mind but that's another story.
Odds Against Tomorrow (1959)
Good B-movie Noir.
This is one of my favorite noir films. I don't like the ending much but I do like everything else.
I have to disagree with an earlier reviewer who said the bank job failed due to luck instead of a poorly thought out or executed plan. The job failed for one reason. Earl Slater. Slater didn't give Ingram the keys to the getaway's car. Think about it. Ingram was wisely selected by Burke to get the car after the heist for a reason. Ingram was the only one of the three who could leave the bank and not arouse much attention. He was dressed in a waiter uniform and the waiter had a reason (delivering coffee) for going to the bank after hours. The plan fell apart when the cop saw Burke come out of the bank. He didn't have a good reason for being in the bank at night and he was dressed like a hunter. This also leads to Ingram and Slater not being able to escape the scene using the car because Slater gave Burke the keys.
It was Slater's bigotry which screwed up the plan. Although Burke should have never chosen Slater in the first place. He knew Slater was a bigot. Anyway, a good B-movie Noir produced by Harry Belafonte.
Robotech (1985)
Robotech is more enjoyable than any of the three original series.
Actually the original Japanese Macross series was NOT an immediate success. It did flop initially. The other two original series that made up Robotech (Mospeada and Southern Cross) are flops period. This is why Carl Macek had the approval of the original Japanese producers to change the Macross source material. Do you see any other anime that's as drastically rewritten as Robotech? The answer is no. It's unheard of. These shows were originally flops that's why they were allowed to be changed so much. I own many episodes of the original Macross series and even that lame(and very boring) Macross movie: "Do you Remember Love". I dare you to tell me this movie was good. It was torture to sit through it (damn was it long). The original Macross is not as deep a series as Robotech is. Macross wasn't meant to be. Macek added so much background to the Robotech saga that it's much more complex then any of the three original series.
None of the characters in the original Macross are better developed than their Robotech counterparts. The names for the characters in Macross are horrible. Robotech's Rick Hunter is named Hikaru in Macross. Maximilian Sterling is named a goofy an overly descriptive name like Maximilian Jenius (Genius get it?). Lisa Hayes is named Misa Hayase. None of these characters look the least bit Japanese. So why the Japanese names? I'm sure some of the characters are not even Asian. Figure that one out.
Macross isn't anymore adult than Robotech is. If you believe that Macross is, then your deluding yourself. The same loss of life, love relationships occur in both series. As a watcher of Robotech and Macross, I wouldn't say Robotech or Macross is more mature then the other. That would be silly. I do say that Macross isn't as deep as Robotech is. Carl Macek took three series ranging from good to just OK and made them deeper by linking them together on the common element of Protoculture. Macross (and the other two series) would have probably flopped here in America if it was released in 1984. I just think most people would have passed on it.
I like the original Macross but Robotech with it's more interesting characters and the many novels and comic series which followed provided me with much more enjoyment. By the way, just because Japan has produced a lot of video games based on Macross doesn't mean it's a hit. Japan has and continues to produce many video game series based on very obscure and sometimes downright awful anime and Manga. Even if a series has a small cult following they will make a game or a series of games based on it anyway. Anyone who buys import Japanese video games knows this. So that alone doesn't mean squat.
My adult mind still enjoys the Robotech saga much more than the original Macross series. That's a fact.
Dragon Seed (1944)
A prime example of classic Hollywood Yellow Face run amok.
I find movies like Dragon Seed hard to watch. It's a shame Hollywood thought White actors could portray Asians better than Asians. They could have at least cast Keye Luke in one of the roles. Not one asian is listed in the credits; only some white actors who regularly portrayed asians like J. Carol Naish. I didn't think any of the caucasians looked asian. Especially Hepburn. At best they looked as chinese Sidney Toler or Warner Oland from the Charlie Chan films which means not very good. If you can look past this, the movie was actually good for what was. Dragon Seed comes across as racist and contrived without real asians and that hurts it.
The previous person's (Thomas Gulch) comments are silly and bigoted. For your information Mr. Gulch there were plenty of examples of movies from the thirties and forties where lily White actors portrayed Black people using Black face. Here are two examples: Pinky (1949) and Babes in Arms (1939). As for your first comment anyone with a brain knows that picketing with signs was one of the major ways Blacks got any changes to occur in this country. If the chinese did the same thing they would get similar results. Stop trying to pit Asians against Blacks because both groups along with Latinos and Indians were all discriminated against by Whites. Your comment " I guess it's todays equivalent of protraying all Egyptians as negroes". What the hell are you talking about? This is the sentence that labels you a bigot. For your information most of the Hollywood movies about Egypt have White actors in the lead and supporting roles. Ever see Cleopatra played by the very white Elizabeth Taylor and also features a White supporting cast? Or The Ten Commandments with White actors playing the Egyptians? I don't know what rock you've been hiding under for the past thirty years but the term Negroes isn't used anymore Thomas Gulch. Or is your name Archie Bunker? Hollywood wasn't concerned about offending any minority group including Blacks. Mr. Gulch, you like all bigots speak from ignorance. Try not to sound like a jackass next time.
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993)
Dean Cain is the worst Superman in history. Bar none.
I'll only comment on why Superman was terrible in this series.
Where do I start? Let's start with Superman or lack thereof. They cast Dean Tanaka. Oh excuse me Dean Cain. Why? C'mon they couldn't find someone taller with better acting chops? Of all the previous Supermen on screen Dean Cain is the worst. He's too short. I think his bio says 6ft. but I think that's an exaggeration. He looks more like 5'9. He and Terri Hatcher are practically the same height. What's with the hair grease? Nevermind, I don't wanna know.
That damn costume is the worst ever. Don't they know how Superman's costume is supposed to look? Dean's costume looks almost purple instead of blue . And he wears shiny red COWBOY BOOTS!! The belt buckle is supposed to be circular but they screwed that up. The cape is way too long. The cape makes the vertically challenged Cain look like a Krypton midget. The 'S' on his chest is way too big and it's not even sewed on in the right place. You know there is no excuse for them screwing up the costume. All they had to do was look at Christopher Reeves costume or better yet buy a Superman comic book for chump change at a local news stand.
Dean Cain has a black belt in arm folding. He can't do a Superman scene without folding his arms. I don't have to tell you why the flying sequences suck but I will anyway. There were none. We instead get treated to state of the art scenes of Cain hopping and flapping his cape to the sound of wind blowing sound effects.
Need I say more? Dean Cain is the worst Superman in history.
Final Fight (1989)
Final Fight: The first Beat em' up to steal Double Dragon's crown.
Final Fight ruled the 2 player beat em' up genre when it was released in 1989. The previous beat em' up king Double Dragon was improved upon in almost every way. Final Fight had better graphics, better music, more fighters, more fighting moves, better locales, better enemies and the list goes on and on.
The 3 fighters in Final Fight had personality which was something Billy and Jimmy Lee from Double Dragon didn't have. The 3 Fighters consisted of Cody (boyfriend of Haggar's kidnapped daughter) , Guy (Cody's friend), and Haggar (Mayor of Metro city). Each fighter had a unique fighting style and strengths(another improvement over DD). My personal fave was Cody. I once beat the whole game with Cody without losing a single life.
Guy's advantage is his foot and hand speed.
Haggar's advantage is his powerful attacks and wrestling holds.
Cody's advantage is his equal combination of speed and power, though he isn't quite as fast as Guy or as strong as Haggar. His greatest advantage is his skill with knives and is the only fighter who can stab repeatedly with one. The other 2 fighter's just throw the knives. I've cleared a whole level of thugs with just a knife alone.
BEST HOME VERSION OF FINAL FIGHT: (FINAL FIGHT CD (japanese import) for Sega CD):
The best home version of this classic is for the Sega CD and it's called "Final Fight CD" (the japanese version). You'll need a japanese convertor cartridge to play it though. Final Fight CD has everything the arcade had and better music. There is a USA version but the Blood, liquor bottles, some graffiti and scantily clad women have been edited or taken out completely. Blood is replaced by sweat, Liquor bottles are replaced by milk bottles, Some Graffiti is covered up, and the scantily clad women have been given less revealing clothes. Not to mention the english voice acting is horrible. The japanese version has japanese voices but the actors put more feeling into their acting. Trust me. Get the Japanese version only. Overall Final Fight CD (japanese) for Sega CD is actually better than the arcade.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1989)
Great 4 player 'beat em up' Arcade game that started a trend.
First of all this section is referring to the 4 player ARCADE game and not the much inferior 1 player Nintendo game. I noticed the first reviewer was commenting on the NES game. If you played the arcade game then you know that the 8 bit NES version is not the same game. Just like Double Dragon did for 2 player beat em ups and Street Fighter 2 did for fighting games, the Turtles arcade game started the 4 player beat em up trend that lasted to the mid 90's. The Simpsons, Turtles 2: Turtles in Time, and X-men are just some of the games that came off the success of this game. The voices came straight from the TV show actors. This game is still very fun and playable today if you can find it. This game is much more fun when playing with at least one other player. Not to mention easier and cheaper because you'll use less quarters. When with playing three others this game was downright addictive. Anyway check it out.
Hokuto no ken: Ankoku no hokuto (1995)
For die hard "Hokuto No Ken" fans only.
FIGHTING MODE:
For a cinematic fighter this game could have been much better. First off the meat of this game is the one on one cinematic fighting mode. The problem with the fighting mode is the severe lack of variety of attacks. You get to choose from all ten major fighters from the story mode. However Kenshiro has the largest number of attacks (over 20). All the others have maybe 10 or less and when you consider that most of the 10 attacks are too weak and thus too risky to use, that limits you to doing the same 2 or 3 powerful attacks over and over again. C'mon they could have taken the time to give every fighter at least 20 attacks. Heck even Kenshiro should have more than 20 because he used more techniques than that on the TV series.
STORY MODE:
The lengthy Story mode is similar to the fighting mode except you get a story built around the cinematic fighting. It's all in Japanese dialog but if you know the overall story from 80's anime TV series that helps make it more bearable. You'll be spending a lot more time in the fighting mode because once you finish the story mode, you won't want to play it again any time soon (It's very long especially if you don't understand Japanese). The acting is just as good as the Hokuto No Ken anime movie. Kenshiro is voiced by Akira Kamiya and Raoh by Kenji Utsumi. Subtitles would have been nice but this game was obviously not intended to be released anywhere outside of Japan.
OTHER COMMENTS:
The story in this game is based on the Manga but takes liberties with the plot and character names. Jaggi is Jado and Raoh/Ken-Oh is Raoh/Zeno but you'll recognize the characters. Most of the fighting styles are in it.
While I like the game because it's Hokuto no Ken, I can't recommend this game for anyone except die hard fans only. I didn't buy the game. I traded for it and I still play it now and then. Casual Hokuto No Ken (Fist of the North Star) fans may want to avoid it.
I Dream of Jeannie (1965)
A White, Blond Haired, Blue Eyed Genie From Baghdad? I think not.
The one flaw that stands out the most is that Jeannie is White. Jeannie is supposed to be from Baghdad yet she White as White could possibly be. I doubt there were any blond haired, blue eyed arabs in 1965 much less 2000 years ago. There is something about a White genie that doesn't seem right. A White witch like in 'Bewitched' makes sense but a White genie does not. In fact all the other genies(with arab names) that have ever guest appeared on the show were White too. This flaw has always stood out to me.
Other than this it's just as entertaining as 'Bewitched' (meaning not that funny). I think it's more beef cake (meaning visually entertaining) than humorous. People watched it more or less too see Barbara Eden(more) and\or Larry Hagman(less) together than anything else.
A White, blond haired, blue eyed genie from Baghdad may be the funniest sight gag this sitcom ever had.
The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
Roger Moore: The King of Bonds.
Unlike most of his fellow Bond actors, Roger Moore is equally adept at drama and humor. I like Connery also but he's not so good at humor. Connery's most humorous Bond films "Diamonds are Forever" & "Never Say Never Again" would have definitely been done better by Moore. Connery seemed miscast in those films. . I always disagreed with the critics who said that Roger Moore didn't fit the Bond role until "The Spy who Loved Me". I thought he was great from the beginning in "Live and Let Die". I see why he was the first choice to play Bond. Too bad he wasn't available.
Ok "The Man with the Golden Gun" has always been one of my favorite Bond films. It has plenty of all the necessary ingredients: Action, Comedy, and Bond Babes. Sure this one has plenty of camp going on but that was intentional. Either you like it or you don't. Which brings me to my favorite character, "Sheriff J.W. Pepper of the LOO-WEE-ZEE-ANA State PO-LEESE". This guy is hilarious just to look at. He talks with a apple sized wad of chewing tobacco in his mouth. Of course Sheriff Pepper's appearance makes or breaks this film because if you can't stand him, you'll likely hate this film (even if he just makes a cameo). Christopher Lee can do no wrong as a Bond villain. A perfect Bond villain if there ever was one. Herve Villechaize is entertaining as Nick Nack (particularly during the last scene). This film is the most FUN Bond film with "Live and Let Die" a close second. Highly Entertaining.
Challenge of the GoBots (1984)
(The Transformers) + (Hanna Barbera Cheese) = The GoBots!
Think of Transformers with simpler stories & cartoony robot designs and you have good idea of what the GoBots are about. Hanna Barbera's influence is all over this show. I mean C'mon a robot named Scooter that transforms into a child's scooter. Only Hanna Barbera would think that this would be cool. OK it's a fine cartoon if you don't compare it to Transformers. I have to admit GoBots is probably one of Hanna Barbera's best TV shows. GoBots is a good juvenile cartoon that posed no threat to the Transformers.
Silverhawks (1986)
Thundercats was bad but this inferior copy was even worse
I feel like I'm repeating myself with these comments. Silverhawks has every flaw that Thundercats had and more. This show was bad enough to insult a child's intelligence. I'll try to make this quick.
SILVER HAWKS USED THE SAME VOICE ACTORS AS THE THUNDERCATS:
SilverHawks has almost all the same voice actors from the Thundercats. That's not a good thing. The Silverhawks main villain "Monstar the Planet Master" is voiced by the same actor who voiced Thundercat's main villain "Mumm-ra the Ever Living". The two names look very similar don't they? This is made even worse by the fact that Monstar and Mummra both say a similar chant to transform from their weaker forms to a more powerful one. Mummra's chant was "Ancient spirits of evil, transform this decayed form to Mumm-ra the Ever Living!". Monstar's chant was "Moon star of Limbo Transform this ********** into Monstar the Planet Master!". No attempt was made to make Monstar sound any different from Mumm-ra. This is a big deal when you consider that both Silverhawks and Thundercats were shown back to back in 1986 on weekday afternoons. Talk about a lack of creativity.
THE PLOT WAS WEAK AND THE CHARACTERS WERE SILLY JUST LIKE THUNDERCATS:
The strongest plot this series ever managed to come up with was when the Silverhawk Hotwing came from the future. After the storyline finished however they didn't put him to any good use. The series didn't seem to know whether it was trying to be serious or funny. The characters were equally as silly as the plots. They had silly names like Zeak the Beak, Seymour the space cabbie, Mumbo Jumbo, and Poker Face. Their gimmicks were just as dumb as their names. Bottomline the characters were terrible.
INCONSISTENT ANIMATION QUALITY:
Just like Thundercats, Silverhawks animation varied greatly with each episode, The animation in the intro is an example of when the animation is good. The animation quality can be really rough with some episodes and the Silverhawks almost look fat sometimes. Really bad.
BOTTOMLINE:
Bottomline is the Silverhawks is a shameless, cheap ripoff of the Thundercats and little effort was made to avoid it. Thundercats wasn't a good series either. An inferior copy of an inferior show. You can't get much lower than that.
Spider-Man (1994)
John Semper's Screwed Up Spiderman. How bad was this cartoon?
Producer John Semper claimed in a interview that he was a big Spidey comic fan and his goal was to bring a faithful representation of the comics to TV. After watching this flawed mess of a series, I think Semper doesn't have a clue what made Spiderman a successful comic series. John Semper doesn't seem to know that the comics industry is an adult driven industry today. Adults are the majority of the people buying comics. So why not at least try to make a cartoon series that doesn't insult the intelligence of the average comic book fan? I'll outline the problems with this series.
JUVENILE LEVEL VIOLENCE:
1. Spidey doesn't punch anybody or hurt anybody. Anybody who's familiar with the Spiderman comics knows fist fights happen very often. C'mon what's Spidey without fist fights? I'll tell you, Useless. Batman the animated series had fist fights. So why can't Spiderman?
2. Laser pistols instead of guns with bullets? C'mon this is New York city. I live in NYC, the Bronx to be exact. Nobody uses laser pistols in New York or anywhere else for that matter. The Laser fire always misses to make matters worse.
3. Nobody dies. Death occurs pretty frequently in the Spiderman comics. C'mon John if you were truly a comics fan you would know that.
INCORRECT CHARACTER ORIGINS AND POWERS:
1. They made Electro the Red Skull's son. Where the hell did they get this from? Not from the comics. Electro had no connection to the Red Skull whatsoever. In what way did taking this creative departure from the comics make the story any better? Did they really think that the comic fans wouldn't notice or care? They screwed up.
2. They made Blackcat as strong as Spiderman. The Comic Blackcat has no super strength at all. They try to explain this screw up, by saying Blackcat got her super strength from the same "Super Soldier Formula" which created Captain America. Guess What John? Captain America doesn't have Super Strength either! You see, the Super Soldier Formula only increases a person's strength and reflexes to it's "Maximum Human Limit". Captain America has a max strength level of about 700lbs. So you know what you did when you had Black Cat rip apart a steel door and perform the various other super human feats? You screwed up that's what.
3. They Butchered the Secret Wars storyline. Spiderman had little to do in secret wars other than get the Black Symbiote costume. Also Captain America should have been the leader of the Heroes. Who the hell would follow Spidey over the much more experienced and natural leader Captain America? Even if Cap wasn't there, Reed Richards or Iron Man would still be better choices. I know it's a Spidey cartoon but do you really think Captain America would take a back seat to Spidey as a leader? Or Reed Richards take a back seat to Spidey in terms of intelligence? No Right? Screwed up.
It would take forever for me to list all that is wrong with this cartoon, but I'll leave it here because I think you get the picture. A message to John Semper and to all future Marvel Comic Cartoon writers, buy the complete set of the OFFICIAL GUIDE OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE and familiarize yourself with the origins and powers of the characters before you use them in your stories. Sure this series had good voice talents but that's all it had. Not nearly enough to save this series. Nuff Said.
Pryde of the X-Men (1989)
Great X-men Pilot Episode With Awesome Animation That Didn't Get Picked Up.
This one shot X-men pilot episode had the best animation quality of any other Marvel cartoon then or since. Yes, the quality even rivals X-men Evolution. I prefer the mature look of Pryde's animation over Evolution's Disney look any day.
The Voice-Overs (Wolverine's Australian accent) have been panned quite a bit on this board. Wolverine's austrailian accent didn't bother me much at all and I collected the X-men comic for a while during the eighties. Even though Wolvie's accent was wrong, his temperment and intensity were captured perfectly by the Voice-Over. I'd Prefer Pryde's Austrailian Wolverine over Evolution's MUCH SOFTER Wolverine any day. Evolution's Wolvie just doesn't have the intensity or temperment; C'mon Wolverine as a teacher? Gimme a break. The other characters in Pryde were well portrayed.
The story line isn't that complex but it's not supposed to be. It's a pilot episode and therefore is meant to be more of an showcase of the format and characters of the cartoon than anything else. The plots surely would have gotten more complex had the series been picked up.
I can't help but think that Marvel missed an opportunity by not producing more episodes. Hmmmm... maybe the animation was too expensive because it was damn near movie quality. If the 90's series had Pryde's animation quality, we would have had a near perfect series. I've seen Pryde of the X-men several times and always wondered about what could have been. If you haven't seen Pryde of the X-men yet, don't listen to negative reviews and go check it out. It's definitely worth it.
Hong Kong Phooey (1974)
Hanna Barbera's Number One Super Guy!
The appeal of Hong Kong Phooey can be summed by one name, Scatman Crothers. One of the most talented individuals ever hired by Hanna Barbera to do voice overs. He pretty much carried this cartoon during it's scant 16 episode run. Quirky one liners and his constant talking to the audience seperated Hong Kong Phooey from the rest. Hanna Barbera ruled the seventies TV cartoon market. IF Cartoon Network would get off the anime band wagon(FAT CHANCE)they would have time to show some American classics such as this. Great Theme Song.
The Sub-Mariner (1966)
The Sub-Mariner is the Prince of the Deep! So Beware you Deadly Demons!
The storylines and artwork for this cartoon were taken straight from the Marvel classics, "Sub-Mariner" and "Tales to Astonish" comics.
The animation is sparse like in the other 1966 Marvel Superheroes cartoons. The story is what shines in these 1966 Marvel cartoons and Sub-mariner is no different. Most of the early Sub-mariner comics dealt with his hatred of surface dwellers caused by their mistreatment of the oceans. It has a catchy classic theme song like all the other Marvel Superheroes cartoons. Sub-mariner and countless other Marvel heroes are long overdue to get a new cartoon series. Maybe one day that will happen if Marvel will look past the X-men, Spiderman, or the Hulk. I know Spiderman is popular but how many Spiderman cartoons can one make and not be repetitive. Submariner has plenty of potential and would be at least unique. Anyway Submariner is worth checking out.
Iron Man (1966)
A classic, check it out.
The one thing these 1960's Marvel superheroes cartoons have over the latest Marvel cartoons is that they are more true to the comics. They take little creative liberties with the source material and Iron Man has that comic book feel. The animation is sparse but that was likely intentional to emulate the comic book.
Don't listen to the other reviewer that says that Iron Man's theme song is cheesy. He then says that the Spiderman theme song is good. Lets compare the songs, Iron man has the line "Tony Stark makes you feel, he's a cool exec with a heart of steel...". Spiderman has the line "Spiderman, Spiderman does whatever a spider can. Spins a web any size, catches thieves just like flies....". I fail to see how Spiderman's theme song is any better or less corny than Iron Man's. Both were sung by the same people and in similar style, so it makes little sense to say Spiderman's song is great and Iron Man's isn't. Now since that nonsense settled, check out Iron Man it's worth checking out at least once. It did the comic justice.
Munster, Go Home! (1966)
If you like the Munsters, you'll like this movie.
If you like the Munsters, you'll like this movie. It's the Munsters only screen appearance in color. It plays like 96 minute episode of the Munsters without a laugh track. Too bad Pat Priest (Marilyn) isn't on board for the movie, but it doesn't matter too much as the show didn't depend on her for laughs. All in all it's worth watching just to see how the Munsters look like in color.
Ghostbusters (1986)
Good, but it was no match for The Real Ghostbusters.
I know this show was based on a 70's movie which predated the Columbia Pictures movie. However this cartoon had the misfortune of competing with the Real Ghostbusters cartoon. To be more specific it competed with the first two seasons(1986-1987) of the Real Ghostbusters which were it's best seasons. There was no way that this PERCEIVED imitation had a chance of challenging the superior writing, animation and witty dialogue of the Real Ghostbusters. Filmation tried to capitalize on the success of the Ghostbusters movie but they did it at the wrong time.
What Filmation should have done if the Real Ghostbusters cartoon was coming out was either scrap the Ghostbusters cartoon or if the cartoon was already completed, delay it's release by a few years. This cartoon is actually better than the Real Ghostbusters AFTER SEASON 2. The writing for the Real Ghostbusters was horrible after season 2 and the Filmation crew could have competed with their Ghostbusters cartoon. I won't say to avoid this cartoon as it is a good children's cartoon, much like He-man. Judge it based on it's own merits and it's decent though.
Slimer! And the Real Ghostbusters (1988)
The annoying Slimer gets his own show. Why????.
I don't know what made the producers think that Slimer was the star of the Real Ghostbusters. Slimer was very annoying and I always hoped the team would bust him and put him in the containment unit. Seriously though, the Real Ghostbusters was already on life support long before this show started. This show was little more than a desperate attempt to keep this franchise going.
Watch the first two seasons(AND ONLY THE FIRST TWO SEASONS!!) of the Real Ghostbusters instead. >
James Bond Jr. (1991)
He Learned The Game From His Uncle James.......
The only thing I liked about this cartoon was the catchy opening theme song. I used to turn the channel after that. I have one question. If James Bond is his uncle and not his father, then why is he named James Bond JR.? Does that make any sense? Does this cartoon make any sense? It's not worth watching folks. Good theme song though.